Ease of Use
Ease of integration and compatibility are key tenants of the BA design philosophy.
Microsoft Office compatibility —
BA uses the same menu and toolbar navigation and shortcut keys as Microsoft Office
2007
Portable Documents —
All BA Reports are created as Microsoft Excel and Word documents for greater portability
and user interaction
Ad-Hoc Reporting —
BA can create a Microsoft Access Database with all the links into the BA Server
Database.
Report Accessibility —
Both Historical and Current Activity Reporting can be generated from the BA Client
(Windows) application, the BA Central web client or directly from Microsoft Office
Applications.
Extensive Report Selection —
Each BA Report Print Option has multiple report configuration settings providing
a seemingly endless number of possible report options.
Web Enabled — Allows
BA Central users to view historical reports or create new interactive reports without
installing any software on the user’s desktop
Mail Enabled —
BA will use Microsoft MAPI (Outlook) or low-level SMTP to email notifications or
procedural requests to other BA Users
XML Enabled — XML
(Extensible Markup Language) provides easier application data sharing. Users can
Drag ‘n Drop XML data onto BA for automatic data entry.
Scaleable Use —
BA’s multi-tiered design allows more users to access the BA Database than would
be possible with a shared file architecture (ex: Microsoft Access) with tremendous
performance gains.
Documentation and Training
In addition to Context Sensitive Help, the knowledgebase is loaded with articles
answering numerous "How To" questions.
Impersonation
A very powerful feature is the ability to see what your faculty and staff can see
before they logon for the first time.
Document Library
Have you ever wished that all your related documents were simply just a click away?
BA makes this wish come true. You can link any Account, Transaction, Person or
Sponsored Project to any document placed in the BA Server database. Supported Formats
include:
- Microsoft Office Documents
- Scanned Images
- Web Addressses
User Interface
- Compatible with the Microsoft Office family of products. A familiar interface means
users spend less time learning and more time being productive.
- Drag ‘n Drop Data Directly into the BA Server Database from other applications
- User can customize data entry to eliminate unneeded or typically unused fields
- Tabbed dialog provides logical access to more data in less screen space
- Graphical Toolbar with tool tips and Status Line on all forms
- All data forms are environment-aware, allowing the user to display multiple forms
or multiple copies of the same form simultaneously
Application Design
- Priority Software BA is built upon a true Client / Server Architecture minimizing
network traffic and maximizes request turn-around times.
- Extensive use of the capabilities and features of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 / 2005
and 2008.
- Efficient use of network bandwidth allowing for remote access over dial-up accounts.
- Centralized Data Storage requires less maintenance and greater accessibility for
the users.
Security and Permissions
BA has Multiple Levels of Security. Users are placed in “Areas” to allow department
level customization and behavior. Permissions are Assigned to User and Groups on
Table and / or Record-Level Permissions. For instance, you could assign the following
permissions:
{Insert Screen Shot showing PI with permission to their N accounts, X projects,
etc.
Areas
Areas allow the centralized database to be “partitioned” into multiple working environments
permitting each College, School, Department, Division, Center, etc. to view only their
data yet have the flexibility to share that data with whomever they assign.
- Record Level permissions are automatically granted to both individual users and
groups
- Server-side security means that rules will be enforced on all outside applications
that connect to the central database
- Security defaults for any number of Users/Groups are completely customizable
Software Installation / Development
Priority Software, Inc. (PSI) will provide all the server software installation
and configuration. Other than backup, there is no IT involevment with the daily "care
and feeding" of your Priority Software Server Computer. PSI remotely monitors and
manages your server installation via our Priority Software Event Management System
(EMS) product. In most cases, should a problem occur, we will typically have it
resolved long before you or your users will have noticed. PSI has been supporting
customers remotely for nearly 30 years. We pride ourselves on our support.
There is no client-side software to install as BA is an entirely web-based solution.
There is no dependence on browser add-ons or ActiveX controls.